The body requires an “alphabet soup” of vitamins, some of which get more attention than others. We all know vitamins A, C, and D, and lately vitamin B12 has become a household term. One vitamin that hasn’t received the attention it deserves is vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone (men-uh-QUINE-own). Vitamin K1 is well known for its role in blood clotting, but the mainstream application of this knowledge is incomplete. Daily Recommended Values for vitamin K are based only on the known effects of vitamin K1, phylloquinone. Research suggests that vitamin K2 is even more important than K1 in the prevention of heart disease (Beulens et al., 2013).* Vitamins K1 and K2 are both...
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Supporting Your Immune System or How to Give Your Body Its Best Shot Against Unwanted Viruses (Such as the flu, E68, HPV, or even dare I say Ebola)
I’ll admit right off the top I’m certainly no expert on Ebola, but it seems quite apparent neither are the “experts” be they in the Federal Government (the CDC) or your major medical institutions.And I’m no expert on the latest “new and mysterious” Enterovirus 68 (or E68) virus or the flu or any of the other viruses that wreck havoc on us – Herpes, Epstein-Barr, HPV, etc. But what I do know is that with all these viruses about us the best way to protect ourselves is with a strong immune system. Without that we are prone to these unwanted invaders. To best understand our internal immunity we look at the relationship between four important nutrients – Vitamin C, Vitamin...
Demystifying Detoxification with Actionable Advice
What is detoxification? The term is as widely used as it is misunderstood. The underlying concept is that the toxins that accumulate in your body can cause illness and disease, and that by ridding your body of these toxins you are boosting your body's innate ability to heal. The goal of detoxification is to convert toxins into a water-soluble form that can enter your bloodstream, be processed by your liver, and then be eliminated through urine or fecal matter. Where are these toxins coming from? Primarily from you. Most toxins enter your body along with the food you eat, the water you drink, and the air you breathe. Rather than stopping all 3 of these activities, you can reduce your...
Treat People, Not Just Disease!
The Takeaway First No two people are the same, and the only way to treat disease effectively is to see that there is noone way. Treatment is usually better when personalized. Standardized Medicine? Dr. Kathy Miller, MD put up a video online last month in which she raised a provocative question: “Will clinical pathways go the way of the dinosaur?” Clinical pathways, if you don’t know, are sets of standard methods or guidelines (you might call them road maps) for the treatment of disease. They were first invented in the ‘80s as a way to make the healthcare industry more efficient. These systems have proven to cut costs and shorten hospital stays (Chang et al., 1999; Chen et...
B4: The Vitamin For Heart Health You May Never Heard Of
Vitamin B4 - ever heard of it? If I were a betting person I’d say probably not.Well perhaps there is a reason. Maybe someone doesn’t want you to know what it is you are missing. Here’s a little historical background. The discovery of vitamins began in the early 20th Century. One of the leading scientists was Casimir Funk who discovered what he called “vitamines” – short for “vital amines” or chemicals that were vital for life. The vitamins were named sequentially and initially associated with a specific deficiency condition. Vitamin A was for night blindness, B for beriberi, C for scurvy, and D for rickets. Initially, each vitamin was thought to be its own unique...
Is it true that aspirin reduces prostate cancer risk?
New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that a low dose of aspirin (81mg a day) may decrease the risk of prostate cancer in men who are high risk. According to the study, high-risk men who took aspirin or another NSAID lowered their risk for overall prostate cancer by 13% and potentially deadly prostate cancer by 17%. This association (not causation) is thought to be a result of reducing the inflammatory marker Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the body. Over six thousand men between the ages of 50 and 75 participated in the study. They included men from North American and Europe. It would seem like this is great news. After all, anything that reduces one’s...
Healthy Kids: Back to School Ideas
In the spirit of “back to school” here are a few ideas on nutrition for kids. (Of course this information is good for adults too!) Nutrition for kids is the most challenging aspects I face when working with clients. While it is hard enough to get adults to eat healthier, kids are often a greater challenge. The food producers and manufacturers have developed special foods that they call “kid’s food”. If you take the time to read the list of ingredients you will find that most of it is not food and should not be consumed by anyone, particularly our children. Our children are growing and need the healthiest foods available to properly fuel their minds and bodies...
Organic Food is Simply Better: A New Study
Doggy Bag Message First Organic food is seemingly more nutritious; contain more protective antioxidants, contain 4 times less pesticides and lower amounts of unhealthy metals like cadmium. While not everything that’s labeled organic is healthy or local, buying organic produce, especially the dirty dozen is worth the extra buck. Like I tell my patients; don’t be skimpy with your food. Study Details A meta-analyses based on 343 peer-reviewed publications were carried out • A meaningful differences in antioxidant content between organic and non-organic crops/crop-based foods. • Types of antioxidants to be higher in organic foods were; phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes,...
Pesticide-free Eating Made Easy
Let's talk food. Although whole foods are a better nutritional choice than processed, within the category of whole foods you have a chance to do far better for yourself. Today we'll examine if and when organic is worth the premium in price, and give you a cheat sheet to make it easy to make better decisions. What is the problem with "conventional" produce? "Conventional" produce is exposed to pesticides (e.g., herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides) that cannot always be completely washed away. By contrast, "organic" produce is not exposed to pesticides. In other words, Conventional = Organic +...
Dietary Supplement Industry: Heal Thyself!
Big Pharma has plenty of "bad players" and greed-driven excesses, but our Dietary Supplement industry does need to clean up its act or risk the false panacea of more FTC & FDA regulation. Here is pointed & funny take on the matter from John Oliver, who comes from the UK, which is far more regulated in this area: At XY Wellness, we applaud any effort to weed out players in the health care industry who are exploiting the ill and vulnerable. In fact, please see my manifesto (yes, it is a bit of a rant) on this very topic. All the Best, David